I just got a call from a very pregnant mom who said that she was tearing up all through the day and felt embarrassed and generally off-kilter. She was trying to keep her tears under control with mixed success. And I do, of course, have some suggestions.

Most all of us have a lot of stored feelings that are trying to come up and out whenever they can. None of our minds wants to carry around those heavy feelings–neither do our children’s minds–and will find any avenue to unload them.

It seems that whenever our bodies are experiencing something new–new hormones, new experiences–our brain takes advantage and hence the tears.

What to do? Easy. Just let the tears flow for as long as you can. Try to educate your friends, husband, parents and siblings to just stay close and patient while you do this healthy work, because that’s all that it actually is.

There’s some anecdotal evidence that releasing tension is conducive to an easier childbirth. So take advantage.